Global Connections

The COEX Starfield Library is located in Seoul, South Korea, and represents a futuristic, modern library. It opened in May of 2017 and is known for its massive bookcases from floor to ceiling, holding fifty thousand books and magazines. Sadly, you can’t check books out and a limited amount is purchasable. The library instead functions more as a tourist attraction and lobby for the COEX mall, serving as a nice place to stop and rest.

The Calgary Central Library is located in Alberta, Canada, featuring a railway running through it. Despite facing a flood in 2013, it returned in 2018, offering more than copious rows of books. After renovation, it provides free wifi, cafes, a performance hall, an interfaith room, a gaming area, audio-video editing suites, and a room for nursing mothers, having many things a standard library doesn’t.

Differing from the normal idea of a monotonous library, the Qatar National Library takes a different approach than a traditional library. The QNL’s mission is to collect, preserve, and give public access to Qatar’s history, culture, and resources. It’s a massive glass and steel structure, shaped to look from one side like two pieces of paper folded diagonally and on another like a stack of uneven books. The inside of the library is no less fantastical, lit solely by natural light.

The Helsinki Oodi Library stands as a modern landmark in Finland, resembling a white church and drawing many tourists. Built to celebrate Finnish independence, the library was designed collaboratively with the public and architects. It boasts three floors each with different purposes: social spaces on the ground floor, creativity and design on the middle floor, and a traditional library experience on the top floor. Constructed mainly from wood and glass, it symbolizes Finland's connection to nature.

The Biblioteca Vasconcelos in Mexico City welcomes around 2,000 visitors daily, serving as a library and general public space. Built on May 16th, 2006, the Vasconcelos is an atmospheric library area and intriguing tourist attraction. Made from concrete, glass, and marble, the library houses suspended shelves resembling a futuristic matrix and a surprising addition: a greenhouse atop the building. Visitors can also marvel at the skeleton of a gray whale, symbolizing environmental awareness.